The rendering for the new Baton Rouge hotel and casino set to open December 2011

Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. has unveiled updated plans for its casino and hotel in Baton Rouge, designed by Las Vegas -based design and development company Marnell Architecture in collaboration with locals Manning Architects.

Anticipated to open in December 2011 with approval from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the new hotel will be a premier southern Louisiana destination property, offering a fully integrated casino entertainment experience. A full-color architectural rendering of the project, complete with a 30,000-square-foot gaming floor and 1,500 slot machines, is available under the "New Developments" section at www.pnkinc.com.

"The complete casino entertainment and hotel complex is designed to capture the feel of a Southern river lodge and will embrace Louisiana's rich cultural history, food, music and 'laissez les bon temps rouler' way of life," said Anthony Sanfilippo, president and CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment.

In addition to the hotel and casino, the new facility will also feature a rooftop pool, three dining outlets with sweeping views of the Mississippi River, 2,400 parking spaces (including 800 in a covered garage), an event center with concert seating for 1,400 people and an outdoor festival grounds with a capacity up to 2,500.

Pinnacle, positioning the property as a regional destination, expanded the original $250 million project budget to $357 million (exclusive of land costs and capitalized interest) doubling the number of planned hotel rooms to approximately 200 which also includes 1,857 gaming positions, 257 more than the preliminary plans. The company expects to fund the remaining $343 million of the overall project budget with cash on-hand, cash flow from existing operations, and its currently-undrawn $375 million credit facility.

Earlier this year, Pinnacle began construction of the riverboat casino and site excavation activities for the project, which is located on a 575-acre site in the heart of south Baton Rouge, creating approximately 1,000 new jobs.

"Current market research indicates that a very significant portion of the adult population in the Baton Rouge region bypasses existing gaming options and travels two to three hours to other gaming markets," said Sanfilippo. "The expanded scope of our project will address this customer demand with a high-quality entertainment option that will be significantly closer to potential guests."